How Christians Can Deliver the Ideals of Democracy 2

Africans and
indeed Nigerians don’t rejoice or speak evil of dead persons. But the day Abacha
died…exactly nineteen years ago by June 8, 2017!

I was forced by the roar outside to dash to the balcony of my office overlooking the historic Queens Street in
Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. The people shouted. The people leaped and jumped hysterically in diverse directions. They embraced and
carried one another. They raised beer bottles to the open skies. They sang. They
danced.The vehicles blared and hooted their horns in mad frenzy. My radical professor friends from the University of Lagos which is near came with
green branches of trees in their hands, waving and dancing to the rhythmic chorus,
’Abacha is dead, Abacha is dead, Abacha is dead. Abacha don die’’.

This hysterical expression of happiness marked
the end of military rule and the commencement of Nigeria’s march to democracy
amid bumps on a road yet to be scientifically defined after 18 years of democratic rule.

Christianity
is often viewed from the Spiritual perspective. This notwithstanding,
Christians through the authority and power which Christianity offers have set
the pace for development in the course of human history. Democracy which according
the Kim Ann Zimmermann, when compared to other forms of governments like,’’
dictatorships, oligarchies, monarchies and aristocracies, in which the people
have little or no say in who is elected and how the government is run, a
democracy is often said to be the most challenging form of government, as input
from those representing citizens determines the direction of the country. The
basic definition of democracy in its purest form comes from the Greek language:
The term means “rule by the people.” But democracy is defined in many ways — a
fact that has caused much disagreement among those leading various democracies
as to how best to run one’’. Democracy created the platform for Christians to
deliver the ideals of Democracy in the West and many other countries.

However the
definition or application controversies may be, the people either by
representation, civil non-governmental, a people of faith as has been seen in
the history of civilization have played prominently in the development of
democracy. Following the in-depth work on this subject by Faith Facts, we
adopted their categorisation in this section. They have categorized the
contribution of Christian beliefs and principles as Value of human life, Compassion and Mercy, Marriage and Family, Education,
Government of the People, Science, Free Enterprise and the Work Ethic. The
others are Art, Music, Literature and Contrary Evidence

The world is
mainly organized along Christian ethics and
principles. This is seen in law, economics, politics, arts, calendar, holidays,
and moral and culture. In the words of historian J. M. Robers writes in The Triumph
of the West, 'We could none of us today be what we are if a handful of Jews
nearly two thousand years ago had not believed that they had known a great
teacher, seen him crucified, dead, and buried, and then rise again.' “(From the
book what’s So Great about Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza.) The disciples took
the bold step to do what they did because after Jesus gave them authority and
power, He said, as the Father has sent me, so send I you. This sending forth to
transform the world applies to every Christian and in every sphere of life.
This is the essence of the gifts and calling given to every believer.
Unfortunately, these have been interpreted within the context of the pulpit
ministry by many people of faith.

The Value of Human Life

Human
Rights. Then God said,’’ Let Us make man in Our Image, according to our
likeness…’’. Genesis 1:26. ‘’For there is no distinction between the Jew and Greek, for the
same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.’’ Romans 10:12 ‘’the
concept of universal human rights and equality comes exclusively from the
biblical idea that all people are created in the image of God’’. Fundamental
Human Rights are mostly pursued by NGOs run by unbelievers. The Church
and Christians need to stand up for this biblical course

Mrs. Awosika, Chairman, First Bank Nigeria Plc

Women.’’ In ancient cultures, a wife was
the property of her husband. Aristotle said that a woman was somewhere between
a free man and a slave. According to the book Reasons for God by Tim Keller
(page 249), "It was extremely common in the Greco-Roman world to throw out
new female infants to die from exposure, because of the low status of women in
society. The church forbade its members to do so. Greco-Roman society saw no
value in an unmarried woman, and therefore it was illegal for a widow to go
more than two years without remarrying. But Christianity was the first religion
to not force widows to marry. They were supported financially and honoured
within the community so that they were not under great pressure to remarry if
they didn't want to. Pagan widows lost all control of their husband's estate
when they remarried, but the church allowed widows to maintain their husband's
estate. Finally, Christians did not believe in cohabitation. If a Christian man
wanted to live with a woman he had to marry her, and this gave women far
greater security. Also, the pagan double standard of allowing married men to
have extramarital sex and mistresses was forbidden. In all these ways Christian
women enjoyed far greater security and equality than did women in the
surrounding culture. See Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity." In
India, widows were voluntarily or involuntarily burned on their husbands' funeral
pyres. Christian missionaries were a major influence in stopping these
century-old practices and ideas’’

In Nigeria
and many parts of the world especially in Africa many of these practices still
exist. Mary Slessor did much to stop the killing of infant twins in Calabar,
South- South of Nigeria. She is a model for the young ladies in that part of
Nigeria today.

It is
however, gratifying to know that gender issues especially the girl child
education has taken the front burner in Nigeria. Again this like other issues
have become business driven by people without
spiritual commitment to supposedly a Biblical cause.

Michael Jackson was a Famous Child

Children. ‘’In the ancient world, for example
in classical Rome or Greece, infanticide was not only legal, it was applauded.
Killing a Roman was murder, but it was commonly held in Rome that killing one's
own children could be an act of beauty. Through a higher view of life, it was
the early Christian church that ultimately brought an end to infantile. The
modern pro-life movement is largely Christian. This pro-life view has been true
from the very beginning of Christianity. A Christian document called the
Didache, dated from the late first century or early second century, contained
instructions against abortion’’.

We have
heard of ritual infant killings by politicians to acquire political power.
Since such a practice can only be motivated by the dark world, do we wonder why
governance is going through very low quality in Nigeria and many parts of the world?
Infact I make bold to
speculate that God did not want this type of practice to continue by stopping Isaac
being used as a sacrifice to Him. Christians in all the services especially
forces should as a matter of commitment to God use their gifts and calling to
expose this evil. By so doing in their professional space, they will be
developing the ideals of democracy.

Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the Slave boy @ 13 years old, later became the Bishop on the Niger;first African Anglican Bishop in Nigeria

Slavery. ‘’While it is true that Christians
have owned slaves in history, it is clear that this was a distortion of
biblical teaching. (See Misconceptions, item #12.) Early Christianity elevated
the roles of those oppressed in society, by for example, accepting women and
slaves as full members. Slaves participated equally in worship and the
community and were afforded contract and property rights. According to
historian Glenn Sunshine in his book Why You Think the Way You do,
"Christians were the first people in history to oppose slavery
systematically. Early Christians purchased slaves in the markets simply to set
them free." It is also true that slavery was ended in great measure by
Christian activists. For example, historians credit the British evangelical
William Wilberforce as the primary force behind the ending of the international
slave trade (which happened prior to the American Civil War). Two-thirds of the
members of the American abolition society in 1835 were Christian ministers.’’

Slavery
still exists in modified forms in Nigeria and some parts of the world. Child
Trafficking, Prostitution etc are some forms of slavery today. It is big
business with syndicates across the globe.

Cannibalism.’’ Missionary followers of Jesus are
credited with stopping cannibalism in many primitive societies.’’

The Roman Catholic Church Pope

Compassion
and Mercy

‘’Kennedy
and Newcombe in their book detail the rise of charity in the name of Jesus over
the centuries. This is in stark contrast to history before Jesus. Historians
record that prior to Jesus, the ancient world left little trace of any
organized charitable effort’’.

Christians should support genuine Charitable Organizations especially in current
circumstances when even the Local Governments are far from the people.

‘’An
important aspect of Jesus' ministry was his emphasis on helping the neediest
and lowliest in society. For example, his Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:30-37) is a classic illustration that is still part of our language today.
While there are good charitable efforts outside of the name of Jesus, Kennedy
and Newcombe argue that Christian charities stand out. They point to Mother
Theresa, the Salvation Army, religious hospitals, and church supported soup
kitchens and thrift shops in every community. Jesus has had such an enormous
impact on charity that one wonders how different things would be if he had
never been born.

In recent
times the Ebola pandemic in Liberia was given a boast by the Samaritan Purse, a
Christian medical charity whose doctor went down with the virus but survived
it.

D'Souza
points out: "This is our culture's powerful emphasis on compassion, on
helping the needy, and on alleviating distress even in distant places. If there
is a huge famine or reports of genocide in Africa, most people in other
cultures are unconcerned. As the Chinese proverb has it, 'the tears of
strangers are only water.' But here in the West we rush to help....Part of the
reason why we do this is because of our Christian assumptions....The ancient
Greeks and Romans did not believe this. They held a view quite commonly held in
other cultures today: yes, that is a problem, but it is not our
problem....However paradoxical it seems, people who believed most strongly in
the next world did the most to improve the situation of people living in this
one."

A Joyful Marriage and Family is an Atmosphere Cultivated

Marriage and Family

‘’ As
explained by D'Souza, before the Christian era, pederasty and homosexuality
were not considered wrong: "Christianity exalted heterosexual monogamous
love, which would provide the basis for a lasting and exclusive relationship
between husband and wife, oriented toward the rearing of children. We take the
family so much for granted—it remains such a powerful ideal in our society,
even when actual family life falls short— that we forget the central premises
on which it is based. Those premises were introduced by Christianity into a
society to which they were completely foreign."

‘’For this
reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the
natural use for what is against nature.

‘’Likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing
what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which
was due’ ’Romans 1:26,27.

The current
wave of same sex and other related vices are being presented as advance of
modernity while in real fact, these are retrogressive practices that Christians
fought in the past.

Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Education

‘’From the
beginning of Judaism, from which Christianity is derived, there was an emphasis
on the written word. But the phenomenon of education for the masses has its
roots in the Protestant Reformation.

‘’ In order
to promote Bible literacy, Christians have been leaders in education. This
trend was accelerated with the advent of the printing press at about the same
time as the Protestant Reformation. Many of the world's languages were first
set to writing by Christian missionaries in order for people to read the Bible.

‘’ In
America, the first law to require education of the masses was passed by the
Puritans. The law was called "THE OLD DELUDER SATAN ACT." This name
was a reference to the devil, who Christians believe gets his foothold into
people's lives because of their ignorance of Scripture.

‘’ For the
first 200 years in America, children's reading texts emphasized biblical
literacy. The emphasis on literacy was so intense in colonial America, that
John Quincy Adams said in the early 1800's that the illiteracy rate was only
4/10th of 1 percent. By comparison, it has been estimated that in America
today, 40 million people are functionally illiterate.

‘’All but
one of the first 123 colleges in colonial America were Christian institutions.
While these universities have lost their Christian identities, it is
interesting to read the founding statements of these schools. Harvard, for
example, was founded on this statement: Let every student be plainly
instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life
and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3?’’

This
education program was pursued in Nigeria by the Missionaries but was later
discontinued by the Military governments in Nigeria. This ugly development has
since been overturned by subsequent Civilian government in the new Democratic
dispensation that commenced in 1999. It has also ushered in an era of the
establishment of faith based Universities like Covenant University, Ota, Babcock
University, Ilishan- Remo, Benson
Idahosa University, Benin City and many more in Nigeria.

‘’ While
America's constitutional government is not specifically Christian, it can be
argued that its roots are taken from biblical doctrines. Here are just a few
possible arguments in this regard:

‘’ America's
first constitution was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. The Puritan
framers of this document required that each aspect of it be grounded in
Scripture. Other constitutions to follow contained many similarities to this
one.

‘’ At least
50 of the 55 signers of the U.S. Constitution were orthodox Christians.

‘’There is
no doubt that the concept of our Constitutional checks and balances system is a
direct result of the biblical doctrine of the sinfulness of mankind. All of our
founders understood the importance of this doctrine to the social order.

America's
foundational idea of The Rule of Law rather than the authority of man traces
back to the Old Testament, beginning with the Ten Commandments.

The idea
that all men are created equal as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence
is a biblical doctrine.

The notion
of the sovereign authority of God (as mentioned in the Mayflower Compact, the
Declaration of Independence, all 50 state constitutions, our currency, etc.)--Rather
than the sovereignty of the state--is certainly biblical.

The
existence of moral absolutes (a biblical concept) is an important idea in our
Declaration of Independence--specifically, self-evident truths and unalienable
rights from the Creator.

Many other
aspects of our laws come directly from the Bible--for example the judicial,
legislative and executive branches trace to Isaiah 33:22. Fair trials with
witnesses have numerous Old and New Testament support.

Regarding
civil liberty, founding father John Adams (and others) emphasized 2 Corinthians
3:17 as the basis for American civil liberty. The slogan on the Liberty Bell is
"Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the Inhabitants
Thereof" is from Leviticus 15:10. Kennedy and Newcombe argue that Jesus
himself was the greatest civil libertarian of all time.

"Here
we see, in its embryo, the idea of limited government. This idea derives from
the Christian notion that the ruler's realm is circumscribed and there are
limits beyond which he simply must not go....Our modern idea of limited
government takes the Christian notion of space that is off-limits to state
control and extends it to the whole private sphere....The separation of the
realms should not be a weapon against Christianity; rather, it is a device
supplied by Christianity to promote social peace, religious freedom, and a
moral community. If we recovered the concept in its true sense, our society
would be better off." (Dinesh D’Souza)’’.

Science

‘’ Kennedy
and Newcombe also argue that science has its roots in Christianity. They point
out that other world religions may express a worldview of fatalism (everything
is fatalistically determined) or of illusion (that the physical world is an
illusion). Science could not have arisen from these worldviews.

Christianity
on the other hand, is based on the notion that there exists a rational God who
is the source of rational truth. This, they argue, gave rise to the possibility
of scientific laws.

Evidence for
this view is that nearly all the founders of modern science were Christians.
These include men such as Keppler, Boyle, Pascal, Pasteur, Newton, etc’’.The awards from the Nobel Prize shown below shows the continuation of this trend.

‘’ Private
property rights can be traced to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:15, 17 (Thou
shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet.")--as well as to other passages
from the Old and New Testaments. Interestingly, there are over 700 references
to money in the Bible!

It is
noteworthy that Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was written in 1776, the same
year as the birth of America. But many historians credit theologian John Calvin
from 200 years earlier as the person who is most responsible for putting
together the principles that were always in the Bible into a system adapted by
the American founders. For example, the biblical doctrines of self-reliance and
self-denial are the foundation of the famous "Protestant work ethic."
These doctrines are at the heart of our economic (and political) way of life.

A
distinction can be made between biblical capitalism and evolutionary
capitalism. The emphasis on biblical capitalism is on the importance of
servanthood--a key teaching of Jesus. Evolutionary capitalism, on the other
hand, relies solely on the survival of the fittest.

Anyone who
doubts the relationship of biblical ideas to free enterprise need only to note
the stark contrast with communism. Communism is specifically an atheistic
system that relies on the non-biblical notion that all men are good (thus will
work for the common good). But communism has been an abject economic failure.

As put by D’Souza,
"The system of modern capitalism arose in the West. To some it is
surprising that capitalism developed so easily in conjunction with a Christian
ethic. But capitalism satisfied the Christian demand for an institution that
channels selfish human desire toward the betterment of society. Some critics
accuse capitalism of being a selfish system, but the selfishness is not in
capitalism—it is in human nature....While profit remains the final goal, entrepreneurs
spend the better part of each day figuring out how better to serve the needs of
their actual and potential customers. They are operationally, if not
intentionally, altruistic....One may say that capitalism civilizes greed in
much the same way that marriage civilizes lust."

Don Moen

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Laureate

Art,
Music, Literature

‘’ The
influence of Jesus on art, music, and literature is enormous. For example, the
Christian faith has influenced literature in such Christian writers such as
Dante, Chaucer, Donne, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton, etc.

Had Jesus
never been born, music would likely sound very different from what we're used
to. There may never have developed the cantata, the concerto, or the symphony.
Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach were Christians who worked to honour God with their
work. Bach, for example, signed all his works with Soli Deo Gloria
("Solely to the glory of God").

Art has
likewise been magnificently impacted by Jesus. While much modern art seems to
debase the human spirit, classical Christian art tries to bring out the best of
mankind--pointing us to a higher plane. This is certainly a tribute to Jesus.

And think of
all the incredible architecture through the years. Especially noteworthy are
the beautiful cathedrals in Europe.

Contrary
Evidence

‘’ Kennedy
and Newcombe address the criticism of some who point to atrocities in history
committed in the name of Christianity—specifically the Crusades, the
Inquisition, the Salem witch hunts, and anti-Semitism. The authors acknowledge
the sinful nature of these events. But they argue that those who committed them
were acting contrary to the teachings of Christ, who taught to love even your
enemies! The blame for committing such acts should be placed on those who perverted
Jesus' teachings—not at the feet of the Prince of Peace!

However, it
should also be mentioned that many historians say that Christians have gotten a
bad rap from the above events. For example, it can be said that all of the
Crusades were defensive in nature—in the same way that one can accurately say
that America's current War on Terrorism is defensive in nature. America is
responding to an unprovoked attack first made upon us. Our goal in this war is
simply to protect our citizens and our property. This is the same thing that
the Christian Crusaders were doing, acting in self-defence against aggressors.

And in the
case of the Inquisition, Kennedy has stated that he is convinced that the
people leading the Inquisition were not Christians at all. "In every case
in which Christians are blamed for violence, a closer look largely exonerates
Christians."

Further, they point out that when
Christian restraints have been removed from a society, the atrocities are
magnified many times over. For example, the regimes of Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and
Pol Pot were essentially atheistic bloodbaths. These twentieth century despots
alone account for well over 100 million murders. The evidence is strong that
when the restraining influence of Christianity has been removed from a country
or culture, unmitigated disaster will naturally follow. As admitted by
existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, "[Without God] all activities
are equivalent."

These
laudable contributions given to the world by Christianity and Christians are
the pillars that have held and still holding human civilization. The current disregard for rule of law,
corruption, deceit, lack of accountability and responsive responsibility in government
etc is secularism in a subtle but focused movement to restore what Christians and
Christianity have laboured for over the centuries after the ministry, death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Imagine a
world without value for human life, compassion and mercy, regulated marriage
and family, chaotic education system, government without the input or respect
for the people, conscienceless science, forced enterprise, no work ethic,
depraved art, music and literature.

About Me

Ambassador T. Brikins is a Writer Blogger, Mass Communications Consultant and Inforpreneur having experiences in the National News Media, Oil and Gas, Administration, University and the Church of Christ..
He is C.E.O. @ New Direction Communications..
He is an ordained Minister and heavily imparted by Dr. David Oyedepo, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, Rev.Roselyn Oduyemi, Kenneth Copeland,Dr. D.Yongi Cho, Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Kenneth E. Hagin, Apostle G. Oduyemi, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, T.L. Osborn,Dr. E.W. Kenyon , Oral Roberts and many more.
Ambassador T. Brikins runs with the visions of Isaiah 11:9; Matthew 23:23 and 11 Corinthians 5:16-21 working with the Lord for their practical expressions in every area of life. .
He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Twitter:@Brikins_tuoyo
Email:weightiermatter@gmail.com
Phone:+234-8023131300